Some Neighbors Irked By Portables at Church

Tuesday

Apr 9, 2013 at 10:40 PM

By MILES PARKSLEDGER MEDIA GROUP

LAKELAND | Kelly Bare has nothing against churches; it's the portable classrooms with which he has an issue. More specifically, it's the four portables in front of First United Methodist Church on Lake Morton Drive.

"They look really trashy to me," said Bare, who lives on Vistabula Drive, adjacent to the church. "It ruins the neighborhood."

The white portable classrooms were constructed in March as part of the church's plan to expand, which was approved by Lakeland city commissioners in 2010.

The plan is broken down into three phases. In the first phase, the church is tearing down the classroom space and rebuilding it. The space is used by the church's preschool during the day and its children's ministries in the evening.

The second and third phases involve building a multipurpose building and tearing down and rebuilding the church's gymnasium.

As part of the East Lake Morton Historic District, the church will face critics on any changes or renovations made, says First United Methodist Senior Pastor David McEntire.

"There will always be someone who has a different opinion," McEntire said. "This church is a vital part of this community."

As First United Methodist has neared construction, McEntire and other church members have visited neighborhood associations near the property to explain the timeline of the project and the purpose. He says much of the negative reaction from the public is from people who aren't attending these meetings.

"Not everyone wants to communicate in a community forum," said McEntire. "You can tell people but they don't always listen."

One of the concerns with the construction is the sheer size of the project. The church's net gain is more than 54,000 square feet with much of that space accommodated in the second and third stories of the children's ministries building. That is a drastic change to a neighborhood that's more used to bungalows.

"What people love about this neighborhood is that it appeals to the human scale," said Tom Wodrich, an East Lake Morton resident. "It's cozy."

Right now though, the neighborhood is forced to deal with portables on Lake Morton Drive.

Had the church not used them, and instead chosen to work the construction around sections of the building, the process would have taken twice as long, McEntire said.

His estimate for completion is 13 months, and without the portables, it would have been closer to 28 months.

The reason they were placed on the waterfront side of the church, as opposed to the parking lots behind, has to do with keeping the preschool children all in one place during the day, he said. Had the portables been placed in the back, the children and staff would have been split between areas on the property because they are still using a building in the front during the next year.

"We chose children's safety over the way it looks," said McEntire.

Bare, who's been living in the neighborhood for six months, is frustrated by what he sees as a big church getting bigger.

"This is one of the things that makes Lakeland; it's the historical districts," he said. "To have a church that already takes up about four city blocks, to keep chipping away at that is just a horrible thing."

Having already been granted permission by the Lakeland Planning and Zoning Board and the Lakeland city commissioners, First United Methodist plans to break ground on the first phase of the project in May.

McEntire encouraged any member of the community with questions or concerns to contact the church.

"We believe what we're doing is for the community," said McEntire. "If my neighbor adds an addition to their house, it's going to be unsightly. But it's going to eventually be more beautiful."